Disclosure in a sale
Alex and Dusty were worried about the sale of theirhouse. They had bargained hard with theBuyers and had reached an agreement last night, but they felt at a disadvantagein today’s market. Under the terms ofthe Arizona Residential Purchase Contract they had to fill out a Seller’sProperty Disclosure Statement (SPDS), get a Letter of Experience or a CLUEreport from their insurance agent and provide both to the Buyers. Dusty wondered if these items mightdisadvantage them even further and was feeling a bit resentful in this wholeprocess.
They asked their REALTOR® if they could just skip fillingout the disclosure statement but he seemed somewhat surprised at thisrequest. “Dusty, the contract you signedrequires you to provide a full disclosure of everything you know about theproperty. I can understand why you’reworried you might jeopardize the sale but not disclosing what you know raises abigger flag than being happy to tell all. Besides, it is your protection to tell all.” Alex perked up, “How’s that?” “Alex, everyonewho is selling a home must disclose whatever they know about the premises, soyou’re really not at a disadvantage filling this form out. But if you know something and don’t discloseit, under certain circumstances you could be liable. When you disclose, the Buyer is then underobligation to determine whether or not that item is material. You are not obliged to discover things youdon’t know about the property, only disclose those things you do.”
The sellers mulled this information over a bit and thenDusty grinned. “It’s just like when wetook that trip overseas.” “What?” saidAlex. “You remember the long releaseform the travel agent sent us. Shewarned us about everything she knew about the countries we were visiting. By the time we were done reading the form Iwondered if there would be anything there for us to eat and how safe it wouldbe for us to go, but it didn’t stop us, it just helped us be aware of what tolook for and what to do about it. Thefunny thing was that after I read her disclosures about the food I felt betterabout shopping and eating because I understood the risks and what to do tominimize them.”
Alex and Dusty filled out their disclosure forms completelyand got them to the Buyers in plenty of time. The Buyers asked for somerepairs, but our Sellers figured the Buyers would have done so anyway. Disclosure is always in the best interests ofall parties in a sale; it protects you and is the right thing to do.
SPDSExample
EveryBuyer is entitled to an SPDS by Michelle Lind
CLUE(Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange ) Report by Lind
BIO and Links:
I have been a softwaretroubleshooter, an email administrator, a restaurateur, a Laser Tag Amusementbusiness creator and owner, a Faux Finisher and a decorative artist, a webdesigner, a writer, a painter an actor, a director and now I am a REALTOR®. Ihave lived around the world and in many of the States. I've been anentrepreneur for most of my life and I have tried to pursue a spiritual path inall my ordinary dealings. To my surprise I have found that by being a REALTOR®and adhering to the REALTOR® code of Ethics I can live the ideals I have alwaysbelieved. Who knew?
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